Adapter valve for tank outlets



June 4, 1935. v. wlLLoUGHBY ET Al. 2,003,915

ADAPTER VALVE FOR TANK OUTLETS Filed Juiy 22, 1951 m m n l m m Patented .une 4, 1935 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE L. Lapworth, Wantagh,

Y., assignors to American Car and FoundryA Company, New York, N. Y., a corporation of New Jersey Application Jul-y 22, 1931, Serial No. 552,377

13 Claims.

action if desired so as to insure proper seating of the valve and accordingly insure reduction or elimination of leakage.

One object of this invention is to provide improved means for opening and closing the valve without necessarily subjecting the same to a rotary action and yet permit such rotary action for valve seat wiping purposes in case it is desired. A further object is to provide an improved arrangement of parts for yieldingly holding the valve in closing position. A further and more speci-o object is to have the improved arrangement disposed within the tank dome and partially supported thereby and to have the various parts of simple and durable `construction and yet adapted to he freely and easily operated.

'IhisrinventionV also contemplates the provision of a new and improvedl valve mechanism for car tanks or other containers including a spring Jpressed valve and a rvalve rod with means for actuating the valve to and from closed or seated position, said means lbeing operative to vary or regulate the action of the spring.

As another object, the present -invention provides a simple and rugged valve mechanism in which the valve is resiliently and .constantly urged in the direction of closing movement, the said mechanism also including a valve operating element which is shiftable to regulate the spring action and which in one vposition is adapted to support the valve in open position.

Other objects and advantages lwill be ymore apparent to those skilled in the art vfrom the accompanying drawing which is a vertical section through a fragmentary portion -of 4a tank with the discharge valve partially shown in elevation.

In the drawing there is shown one specific embodiment which the invention may take and wherein a tank l is provided preferably at its lowermost portion with a discharge nozzle 2 having the usual breaking groove 3. This nozzle is rivetedor Aotherwise suitably secured to the tank and has a threaded end il for receiving a closure cap vand a tapered seat 5. .Avalve f5 has a tapered surface for seating upon seat 5 and also suitable .guiding flanges l' which project downwardly lfrom van .annular ring :B which has a threaded connection with a cylinder '9 of the Valve 1B.

To operate the valve and also to partially rotate the same for wiping purposes a valve operating rod l is pivotally connected in an enlarged opening of a socket member il pro,- jecting upwardly from the valve. The actuat- 5 ing rod extends upwardly through the opening i2 in the top oi the tank and thence through a suitable bracket i3 secured thereto. Theupper end or" the actuating rod 'is vprovided with a threaded 'portion lll and a shank l5 of square cross-section. The -bracket I3 supports an abutment It comprising in the instance shown, a sleeve through which the valve rod l0 extends and against the upper edge of which a handwheel l? is adapted to engage, the upper edge of the sleeve forming a bearing surface upon which said hand-wheel rotates. Obviously the bracket and abutment may be a unitary structure if desired. `The hand-wheel H is supported by the valve rod and preferably is threadedly mounted thereon rto be movable relative to the valve rod between the abutment I6 and a collar 4I8 secured to the valve rod. A spring I9 is interposed between thehand wheel l1 and a valve wiping handle l20 which engages the lower end of a stationary sleeve 2|. This sleeve engages the top 22 of the dome so as tohold all of the parts in their operating relation. Access to `the parts is had through the -usual dome opening 24 whereby it is seen that an oper-ator may reach the handle 2t or hand wheel l 'l merely by inserting his arm through the dome opening 24.

In operation the valve is in closed position when the hand wheel is in its full line position as shown. If it is desired `to open the `valve the hand wheel is rotated counterclockwise looking down upon the same until by being screwed downwardly along the threads VIll it will engage the upper edge of -sleeve I6, whereupon lfurther rotation of .the hand wheel will cause upward movement .of the actuating rod and valve. This movement being continued until the ring I8 engages the lower side 01 handle 20, at which time the .guide flanges l will beelevated in the nozzle 2, but a sufficient portion of the flanges or ribs will remain withinrthe nozzle passage so as to prevent lateral .displacement of .the valve. To reclose the valve the hand wheel is vturned in' the opposite direction that is, to the posit-ion shown in full lines in the drawing, thereby com.- pressingspring 'i9 which Ibears upon the hand,- wheel AIzl at its lower .end and -against the handle 2!) .at :its upper .end and dueto the Vcompressive force generated in the spring i9, the valve will 55 be actuated until nally the valve engages its seat, whereupon the hand wheel can be further rotated so as to be entirely clear of the sleeve i6, or if it is desired to wipe the valve seat, rotation of the hand wheel may be stopped just as the valve engages its seat, whereupon the handle 20 may be oscillated so as to oscillate shaft I0 and valve. 6. However, there is no reason why this wiping action may not be effected even with the hand wheel in its full line position as shown, because the spring i9 exerts only a yielding seating force on the valve and accordingly the wiper handle 2li may be operated. This may be a preferred operation although it will also be readily seen that a varying degree of seating pressure may be applied to the valve merely by varying the position of the hand wheel between the sleeves I8 and i8. The construction as shown can utilize the wiping mechanism to insure positive operation of the hand wheel in case it should 4become stuck after long non-use of the equipment. For instance, if the engagement between the hand Wheel and shaft I should become stuck so that upon rotation' of the hand wheel it would rotate the shaft instead of rotating relatively thereto, the operator may grasp the handle 20 and thus hold the shaft against rotation with the hand wheel. A further advantage of the arrangement here shown is that it may be easily applied to any existing equipment merely by providing a suitable opening in the side of the tank opening l2 and securing the bracket I3 to the top of the tank. Thereafter the valve rod, hand wheel, sleeve 2l and other parts may be inserted within the dome and the spring IS compressed to permit sleeve 2i to be inserted over the hub 25 of wiper handle 20, whereafter the spring will move the sleeve 2E upwardly to be supported against the top 22. The parts will thereby be held in assembled and operative relation without any further fastening elements.

Intermediate the lower face of the cylindrical portion 9 of the valve and the horizontal portion 8A of the annular inner valve ring 8, and held in' locked position thereby, is a yieldable or iiexible packing P of angular shape in cross section.

The packing P bears against the inner face of the nozzle 2 and serves as an effectual seal to prevent leakage of the contents of the tank in the event of foreign substance lodging on the beveled valve seat 5.

As the two valve parts 8 and 9 are connected by screw threaded engagement it is obvious that the packing P is readily removable for replacement when desired.

What is claimed is:

l. A car tank discharged valve mechanism comprising a valve seat and valve, a reciprocable valve operating rod, means for rotating said rod including a handle having a slidable but nonrotatable connection with said rod, and means including a spring for holding said handle. in position and yieldingly holding said valve to its seat.

2. A car tank discharge valve mechanism comprising a valve seat and a reciprocable valve, a threaded valve operating rod, a hand wheel engaging said threads, a stop adapted to be engaged by said wheel during opening of the valve, a valve wiping'handle slidably but nonrotatably mounted on said rod for oscillating said valve on its seat, a spring interposed between said vhandle and wheel, and a. stop for preventing upward displacement of said handle by said spring.

3. In a discharge valve mechanism, a valve and a valve rod, a compression spring acting in the direction of closing movement of the valve for urging the valve to seated position, means slidably engaged with the valve rod for oscillating the latter to grind the valve on its seat, and means carried by and shiftable on the valve rod to increase the spring action when the valve is seated.

4. In a discharge valve mechanism, a valve and a Valve rod, a Xed abutment, a hand-wheel threadedly engaged with and rotatable a limited distance on the valve rod into engagement with the abutment, continued rotation of said handwheel on the abutment actuating the valve rod relative to the hand-wheel to un-seat the valve, spring means acting against the hand-Wheel and normally urging the valve towards seated position, and a stop on the valve rod to limit movement of theI hand-wheel in the opposite direction.

5. In a discharge valve mechanism comprising a valve and a valve rod, a handle member slidably and non-rotatably connected with the valve rod, said member being operative to oscillate the valve on its seat, a fixed abutment, a hand-wheel rotatably mounted on the valve rod, spring means interposed between said handle member and hand-wheel to normally urge thex valve towards seated position, said hand-wheel being operative in one direction into engagement with the abutment to be rotatable thereon to actuate the valve rod whereby the valve is unseated and said hand-wheel being operative in the opposite direction to increase the spring action whereby the valve is seated by said spring, and a stop on the Valve rod for limiting the movement of the hand-Wheel.

6. In a valve mechanism comprising a valve, a valve rod, a compression spring normally urging said valve to its seat, and a valve rod guide, the combination of an abutment supported by the valve rod guide, and a valve operating device carried on said rod in engagement with said springand movable relative to the rod to regulate the action of the spring against said valve when the latter is seated, said device being adapted to engage the abutment to hold the valve in open position.

7. In a valve mechanism including a valve, a valve rod, a hand-wheel threadedly supported on the rod, a iXed abutment, a compression spring engaging against the upper surface of said handwheel and normally urging said valve to its seat, said hand-wheel being rotatably shiftable relative to said rod in one direction to reduce the pressure of the spring and into bearing engagement with said abutment to positively control the movement of the valve from its seat and being slnftable in the opposite direction to compress said spring to increase the pressure thereof against said valve when the latter is seated.

8. A discharge valve mechanism comprising a valve, a valve rod, a spring retaining the valve in seated position, means for oscillating the valve, said means having a free sliding connection with said valve rod, but being incapable of rotary movement relative thereto, a fixed abutment, andv means engaging said spring and rotatably shiftable on the valve rod towards the abutment to reduce the spring action against said valve when the latter is seated, continued rotation of said rotatable means into and during bearing engagement against the abutment actuating the valve rod relative to the rotatable means to positively control the movement of the valve from its seat.

9. In a discharge valve mechanism comprising a valve and a valve rod, the combination of means slidably and non-rotatably engaged With said rod for oscillating the valve on its seat, a fixed abutment, a hand-Wheel threaded on the rod and rotatable into engagement with said abutment for moving the valve from and to its seat independently of the oscillation of said valve, and a stop on said rod to limit movement of said hand-wheel relative to said rod away from said abutment.

10. In a discharge valve mechanism, in combination with a valve, a valve seat and a valve rod, a handle on the valve rod so arranged as to actuate the rod to oscillate the valve, said rod being longitudinally movable relative to said handle, and means for applying variable pressure to said valve on its seat comprising a xed abutment adjacent the valve rod, a hand-wheel rotatably mounted on the valve rod, a compression spring interposed between the hand-wheel and handle, said hand-Wheel being operable in one direction to increase the spring action whereby to increase the pressure on the valve rod and valve and said hand-Wheel being operable in the opposite direction into supporting engagement with said abutment to free the valve rod of spring pressure, said hand-wheel being rotatable on said abutment to actuate the valve to open position while free of spring pressure.

l1. A discharge valve mechanism for car tanks comprising a valve having a valve rod, a i'ixed abutment within the tank, a collar secured to the valve rod, and means for operating the valve to open and closed positions comprising a hand wheel secured to the valve rod in such a manner as to be capable of movement relative thereto between and into contact with the abutment and collar respectively to limit the movement of the hand wheel on the valve rod, said hand wheel being rotatable during its contact with the abutment to operate the valve, and spring means bearing against the hand wheel and normally urging the valve in the direction of closing movement.

12. A valve mechanism comprising a valve, a valve rod, a hand wheel shiftable on said valve rod, a compression spring above the hand wheel and bearing against the upper surface thereof to constantly urge the valve in the direction of closing movement, and a fixed abutment below the hand wheel, said hand wheel being shiftable on the valve rod to increase the spring action when the valve is seated and being shiftable into contact with the abutment whereby continued operation thereof will shift the valve rod and open said valve.

13. A discharge valve mechanism comprising a valve, a valve rod, a spring retaining the valve in seated position, oscillating means for the valve slidably and non-rotatably connected with the valve rod, a fixed abutment, and means engaging said spring and rotatably shiftable on the valve rod into contact with the abutment to reduce the spring action against the valve when the latter is seated, continued rotation of said rotatable means While in contact with the abutment actuating the valve rod relative to the rotatable means to positively control the movement of the valve from and to its seat.

VICTOR WILLOUGHBY. WILLIAM L. LAPWORTH. 

